Grow Your Brain by What You Eat 1 – Nutrients and Their Meaning for Your Brain

This class teaches the basics of food and nutrition with a focus on brain health and brain nutrition. 
Truly - food for thought!
Highly engaging and research-focused as nutrition is a very individual choice. 
This class is demanding and requires students to engage in the material and think about the reasons for their own food choices.
The purpose is to help students navigate through the thicket of nutrition information and weigh the evidence.
Students are encouraged and guided to build their own opinion about what foods to put in their bodies.
We us whiteboards and students will present their research findings (based on recommended websites) in class in 1-2 min short no-stress summaries.
It is ideal for those who have completed the class: "Love Your Brain- 12-Week - Neuroscience Applied to Behavior & Mental Health" but this course is independent of it and interesting for all those who want to learn about what nutrients are, how nutrients affect their brain chemistry, how we can support proper brain and body growth and contribute to behavior and mental health as well as to overall health, happiness and success in life as well to make better informed choices about food selection and food quality as it applies to mental and physical health and sickness.
A .pdf copy of my book "Eating for Vibrant Health and Explosive Energy" is part of the materials provided.

This class is based on nutrition and human history, current science of all areas and encourages individual choice and independence from food advertising. We become food detectives to find out why foods today are different than they have been years ago, what is different and how we can still find foods that support our brain and general health the most.
Although I avoid value-laden judgments in regards to food, I encourage natural foods, less processed foods, and choosing foods that have less added sugar, additives, and preservatives.
I am not particular about any specific diet and respect individual choices, yet emphasize the need to be informed about possible consequences of any restricted diet.
Class minimum size is 3 learners to encourage learner interaction.

Class breakdown:

1.	Overview – How to Read Food Labels and History of Eating and Foods
2.	Where does our food come from? Natural Foods and the Food Processing Industry
3.	Protein – What is it (Chemistry), what is important, how does it get digested, assimilated, and used, essential amino acids, sulfur-containing amino acids
4.	Fat – Chemistry, natural and artificial fats, essential fatty acids, omega 3-6-9, cholesterol 
5.	Carbohydrates -   Chemistry, what is important, are there essential carbs? Fiber, complex carbs and simple carbs (sugars) – glycemic index
6.	Vitamins – where to find these? fat-soluble, water-soluble meaning of RDI 
7.	Minerals – definition – where to find these- Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Iron, Iodine, Trace Minerals, 
8.	Phytonutrients – eat the rainbow – importance of Anti-oxidants and Spices
9.	Nutrition and Inflammation – Normal and Abnormal inflammation, Autoimmunity, Causes of Inflammation associated with food
10.	Food Allergies and -Sensitivities – what are they, are they real, differences, how to find out and treat, 
11.	Food Intolerances – Oxalates, Salicylates, Amines, MSG – What are they? Where do we find them?  Symptoms – Elimination Diets – do they make sense
12.	 Food additives and Toxins found in foods (naturally and artificially)